On Monday, August 24, BART reached another milestone on a major phase of the Warm Springs Extension project that will ultimately connect BART in Alameda County with BART in Santa Clara County. BART will issue a "Notice to Proceed" to Shimmick Construction Company, Inc./Scanska USA Civil West California District Inc. Joint Venture, which will allow them to begin the extensive construction project that will create and support tens of thousands of jobs and help stimulate Bay Area economy.

"Construction to extend BART service 5.4 miles southward to a new station in Fremont's Warm Springs District will begin this fall," BART Board President Thomas Blalock said. "I am pleased to announce that the final bid for this long-awaited phase of the extension is $136M - 45 percent below our original engineer's estimate of $249M."

First of Two Contracts to Proceed:

This is the first contact of a two-contract project and is for the construction of the underground-phase of the extension. Later this year, the second contract for the above-ground elements - including the line, track-work, station and systems - is anticipated to be advertised for bid with construction slated for 2010.

Project will create jobs and keep Central Park open:

According to the American Public Transportation Association's economic formula, both phases of the work will create and support an estimated 26,700 direct and indirect job opportunities. It involves constructing the Warm Springs Extension alignment between Walnut Avenue and the eastern side of Fremont Central Park. Preliminary work to prepare for right-of-way construction includes tree and shrub removal, utility relocation and erecting fencing. Once that phase is done, the crews will begin early critical activities.

Keeping the park open to the public as the extension is underway is a key priority. To achieve this, crews will relocate recreational facilities, such as the dog park, soccer fields, baseball fields and basketball courts to an adjacent area in the park. These facilities must be complete and open to the public before the existing park amenities are taken out of service to make way for further construction.

A ground-breaking ceremony in Fremont Central Park is scheduled for Wednesday, September 30.

BART anticipates that the construction will last for approximately three-and-a-half years and the station will open in 2014.For more information, visit www.bart.gov, email bartwarmspringsextension@bart.gov or call 510 476 3900.